The present disclosure relates to a support device adapted for use during radiological imaging of a patient. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to a support device adapted to support the head and/or neck of a patient during radiological imaging using a Computed Tomography (CT) scanner.
CT scanners are commonly used to obtain cross-sectional images of the patient's body, including images of a patient's brain, lungs, heart, liver, bones, blood vessels, etc. CT scanners are often used to diagnose different kinds of diseases such as cancer, to plan radiation treatments and surgeries, and/or to guide physicians during biopsies or other invasive procedures.
During an imaging procedure, the portion of the patient's body that is to be imaged is often propped-up or elevated using a holder to support the body part in a desired position. Such holders are generally fixed devices configured to support a body part in only one position (e.g., a wedge-like pad or cushion, etc.). A problem arises when it may be desirable to take an image of the patient's body in different positions. For example, in the case of imaging a patient's spine, it may be desirable to obtain a first image of the patient's spine with the patient's neck and head tilted forward, a second image of the patient's spine with the patient's neck and head tilted back and/or a third image of the patient's spine with the patient's neck and head in a neutral position. Unfortunately, when using a fixed holder, the holder must be moved relative to the patient, interchanged with a holder of a different size or the patient must be reposition on the holder. Any such activity may be uncomfortable for a patient and/or may be burdensome on an operator performing the imaging procedure. Accordingly, it would be advantageous to provide a patient support device that can selectively move the patient into a number of different positions for imaging.